1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to storage containers for recorded media and, more particularly, to a storage container having a centrally disposed hub that engages and selectively retains an item of recorded media. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a storage container for recorded media employing a hub that releasably secures an item of recorded media such as a compact disc or DVD while substantially preventing the compact disc or DVD from experiencing bending stresses while the item of recorded media is stored in the storage container.
2. Background Information
In recent times, most recorded music is purchased by the consumer either on a cassette tape or a compact disc. Cassettes tapes and compact discs have supplanted vinyl records and 8-track tapes as the dominant forms of recorded music. Along with the growth of compact discs, numerous storage containers have been developed to hold the discs during shipping, display for sale, and subsequent home storage of the discs. A disc may spend over 99% of its life stored in one such storage container because the same storage container is typically used to ship the disc, to display the disc, and to store the disc at the home of the consumer. Most of the storage containers known in the art hold the compact disc on a hub that engages the center hole of the disc to hold the disc in place in the storage container.
Digital versatile discs (DVDs) have recently been developed and are expected to grow as more consumers are exposed to the benefits of a digital video picture combined with a digital audio track on a single DVD. DVDs also have a larger storage capacity than a compact disc and may be used to hold feature length films as well as multiple music recordings. It is likely that DVDs may also be used to hold data in computer readable forms. One problem with DVDs is that they currently trade durability for their increased storage capacity. It is believed that a DVD may be damaged over time by the forces that are commonly created in a compact disc storage container. These forces are the outwardly directed forces created by the hub that typically radially engages the interior wall that forms the center hole in a disc. Compact discs are durable enough to be insensitive to this force but it is believed that a DVD will eventually warp as a result of these constant radial forces. Such warping can prevent the data on a DVD from being correctly read by a DVD player.
In view of the perceived problems with the constant bending forces, the industry has moved in the direction of requiring all DVD storage containers to loosely retain the DVD such that it may freely rotate while securely retained by the storage container. The storage container thus must retain the DVD in a manner that allows it to freely rotate while also securely holding the DVD during a standard drop test. It is thus desired in the art to provide a storage container for a DVD that holds the DVD without creating constant bending stresses in the DVD while securely retaining the DVD to prevent it from coming loose.
Another problem with storage containers used for DVDs is that segments of the industry have moved in the direction of requiring a centrally-disposed button to be depressed before the DVD is released by the storage container. Although these devices are functional and adequately retain the DVD during drop tests, some consumers find the requirement of depressing the center button annoying. Most consumers are accustomed to simply grasping the edge of a compact disc and pulling the compact disc off of the centrally-disposed hub of a storage container. These same consumers feel that they should be able to remove a DVD in the same manner especially because a DVD is similar to a CD in appearance. The center-button DVD storage containers prevent such removal by preventing the consumer from grabbing the edge of the DVD. The storage containers having the center button require the user to hold the storage container with one hand while depressing the center button with the index finger of the other hand. The DVD is then lifted by the thumb and middle finger of the hand depressing the center button. Such removal is difficult for people having weak hands, long fingernails, small hands, or large fingers. In particular, a person with long fingernails or large fingers may have difficulty in depressing the center button adequately to release the DVD from the center hub.
It is thus desired in the art to provide a storage container for a DVD that allows the DVD to be easily removed from the storage container without requiring the user to depress buttons.
Another problem with existing storage containers that allow compact discs and DVDs to be easily removed from a hub is that some of these devices create large bending forces in the discs when the disc is removed from the hub. These storage containers typically allow a person to grasp the edge of the disc at any location about its perimeter and pull upwardly causing the disc to engage the hub, compress a portion of the hub, and then pop off of the hub. Although these discs certainly allow for easy removal, the stresses experienced by the disc during the removal process are thought to be large enough to damage a DVD. It is thus desired in the art to provide a storage container for a DVD that allows the DVD to be quickly and easily removed without creating significantly large bending stresses in the DVD during the removal process.